Hiking Cairn-Grotto-Fountain traverse

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The weather forecast predicted high temperatures but with most of the route being in the shade and me needing a tough walk in preparation for Valley of the Flying Ants, we decided to go ahead. Driving to Kloof Nek there were dark thunderclouds and in fact there was thunder and lightning later, in the evening.

We were five plus Litchi - Alex, John, Michaela, Simon and me. The mountain looked absolutely fantastic with all the bulbous plants blooming after the last fire - pink Watsonias, yellow Barbonica's and blue Aristea's.

Blinkwater Ravine gets more bushy every time I go there and it's unfortunate that the powers that be still feel that it should be closed, crazy really when it's in better condition than Diagonal Route.

Litchi (and the rest of us) managed the first pitch very well, with a helping hand from Alex. John and I were dying for coffee and we stopped at the usual overhang above the waterfall where Litchi enjoyed the puddle of water from the perennial drip.

Litchi found a stick about the same length as himself and, normally a quiet dog, he howled and growled when the stick kept getting stuck in the vegetation, Alex eventually breaking it into a more manageable size – ha!

With the sun on our heels we made it to the ridge where the group was asked for their idea of where we would go next (I love asking this).

“Up,” they said, pointed to the top of the mountain, even Simon who was sitting on the path nogal!

Off we went, me with heart in mouth having not scrambled for a while, a tiny bit concerned that Litchi may come whizzing past, knocking me into the fresh air below.

It was soooo hot and I was getting thirsty and anxious about running low on water. “Pleeeeese let there be water at the tree,” prayed I, knowing that if there was water it came at a price. And sure enough, there was water – and slime! The tree pitch comes after a particularly narrow section where I once again prayed, this time to mountain fairies as well as Michaela for keeping Litchi from following me.

But he behaved and there we were, Simon trying to find an ‘easier’ way (whoa!), Litchi soaking in the pool below (lucky dog), Michaela and I standing below the pitch with knees knocking, the ever-reliable Alex climbing up and down the tree and John, well……………….

And Michaela went first, “it’s easy,” said she as she ‘topped out’.

“I’ve done this many times,” thought I (as usual) as I scrambled up the tree. And sure enough, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it looked.

After a false start on a traverse too low and waaaay too exposed, we scrambled higher up the amazing crack above the tree to a higher level and continued around the corner.

Now we were in the sun. Hot! Absolutely no shade. Hot! More scrambling and “do you remember, we were here when we did the TM frontal traverse?”

On Kloof Nek Ridge and with a quick bite to eat, Michaela and John announced their plan to take the cableway, and had all along. It didn’t take long for me to decide to join them – full sun on the front of TM, my back/hip problem and it was already about 1pm and I had work to do.

On the way to the cableway we came across some people who had abseiled from the top, another group who had walked up the front of TM, and a family of dassies’s – ah, they’re back. We haven’t seen them for a while and I heard that they died out because of a virus, probably from ignoramuses feeding them.

After a wee (Litchi climbing into the basins and dehydratedly guzzling from the taps), we descended with the plebs in their sandals, only to find that “Dogs are not allowed in the cablecar”. I didn’t point this out to Michaela, but Alex did (men!).

“Litchi is not a dog,” said Michaela, and I thoroughly agreed with her, ready to write ‘that’ article about how the Cableway Station is abusing its position:

· They owe TMNP lots of bucks for rental of the mountain

· They ‘use’ guides to take visitors around the mountain in exchange for freebie cableway cards that most cannot use (who wants to go up TM on the cablecar at R60 one-way alone?)

· They don’t clean up the rubbish made by their ‘business’, i.e. they’re not putting anything back.

· There should be a rate for locals.

And so it was that we reluctantly subscribed to something that we don’t agree with, but we lived to tell the tale. All in all, a magic route on a magic mountain, Table Mountain rules, ok. By the way, I stopped off at Kloof Nek café on the way home for a beer and Energade and that was just the start of my dehydration through the evening.